Monday, April 29, 2013

What is an Oast House? A few weeks ago I went to
Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Oast House Brewers to find out for myself. Nestled in
NOTL’s wine country at 2017 Niagara Stone Road is one of Ontario’s new craft
breweries. I had been dying for a visit and when I showed up I was lucky enough
to receive a private tour by Kevin Somerville, the brewmaster and one of the owners.
Having studied at the World Brewing Academy, Kevin knows the world of beer
inside and out and was able to break it down for me in a way that any
non-science major could understand.

Painting of an Oast House

The Sampling Bar

An Oast House is a type of barn that was popular in the
1800s in Kent, England and was used for drying hops. The whole idea of
using that as the inspiration for their name was to keep a rustic, barn-like,
rural feel, consistent with the area and with their brewery. They are located
in an old red barn and used scrap copper and barn board inside and along their
bar. With a big open space and beautiful wood floors, they have given
themselves enough room to host events for up to 70 people with a small kitchen
to boot. The staff are all extremely friendly and helpful and full of
information about their unique products.

Oast House Brewers inAction

Oast House is using primarily Canadian hops that are
grown in the prairies and get malted in Montreal. They are also planning on
growing some of their own hops in the summer in collaboration with local
farmers. Unlike most beers, their products take about 2 months from start to
finish – 1 month to ferment, 3-4 weeks to referment and 5-7 days in a cooler to
let the yeast settle. The refermentation of the beer is a significant step for
Oast House because it both makes the beer bubbly and traps some of the esters,
adding subtle flavors to their brews. They have a year-round refermentation
room and are one of (if not the only) brewery in Ontario doing this year round.

Oast House Brewers on Tap

These efforts on the part of their brewmaster go a long way in producing unique, quality beers that have already received high praise
in the region and beyond. They are currently putting out four products and I
had the pleasure of tasting each (including a sneak preview of Bière de garde,
the newest member of the Oast House family).

Bière de Garde: Darker, maltier and fermented at
a cooler temp to essentially “allow the ester to take a step back and the malt
to take a step forward” (according to Kevin).

The Finished Product

Saison: Belgian style farmhouse brew – farmers
in the Bologna region of Belgium would make this style of beer during the
colder months so that it would be available for their day labourers (“saisonniers”)
in the summer. Originally it was just used as a thirst quencher when beer was
safer than water and eventually became a beer used in celebrations and other
special occasions.

Barn Raiser: A really floral nose with bright
citrus flavors. While fruity and perfect for Spring/Summer, the complexity of
the flavors that linger after each sip puts this beer in a totally different
category. This was my favorite beer.

Smokey Irish Stout: Equally distinctive, using
chocolate malted hops and smoked hops to produce a dark, smoky brew. While I am
not typically a fan of stouts, the smokiness really rounded out the bitterness
and I quite enjoyed it.

The Oast House is a great addition to the craft brewery
scene and I would recommend it to any beer enthusiast or to anyone visiting the
area. The atmosphere, the people and of course the beer are exceptional and I
can’t wait for their product to hit the shelves at the LCBO!

About Me

Having worked in a local bakery throughout high school and watched the cooking channel obsessively from an early age, I can say whole-heartedly that I am a food lover. I love all things fried, flambéed, grilled, baked and dipped. I am constantly trying to keep track of all the restaurants, markets, cafes and vineyards that I have explored and will endeavour to share each and every bite with you.